


Scarred Hearts

by funeralbeldam



Series: Unexpected Love [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, soulmate tattoo au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:35:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29407038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/funeralbeldam/pseuds/funeralbeldam
Summary: Re-upload from my old, deleted, account.The story of how Harry and Ginny found their soulmates.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley
Series: Unexpected Love [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2160279
Kudos: 8





	1. The Second Marking

When it came to Harry Potter, he grew up just as unaware of his tattoo as he was of his magic. It was first spotted by Aunt Petunia when he was 4 and she was forcing him to put on one of Dudley's old shirts.  
Right there, on his right shoulder blade, was a faint mark. Frowning, Petunia held the squirming boy still so that she could look closer. It was a strange shape...

With a horrified gasp, she let go of Harry as if he had burnt her and screamed for Vernon.  
"Look... Right there!" She pointed a shaky finger at the child's back - terrified of touching him again, as if he'd bite her.

Harry's uncle went from a sickly pale white, to a deep beetroot red within an impressive few seconds.  
For there, (just about visible enough to make out) on his nephew's shoulder, was a flaming broomstick.

___________________________________

Ginevra Molly Weasley was born on the 11th of August in 1981, the first girl born to Molly and Arthur Weasley.  
She was born with a lightning bolt striking down her left upper arm, clear as the freckles on her skin.

As she grew up, Ginny heard stories - stories of a boy who had saved everyone. A hero. A hero with a lightning bolt scar.  
Her older brothers, Fred and George, would tease her about this - joking that her soulmate was the famous Boy Who Lived. The boy who went missing and hadn't been seen by anyone for years.

Despite the teasing, and the slight sadness she felt at the thought of her potential soulmate being missing or even dead, she never broke. Ginny knew that deep down, she could manage with or without this mysterious soulmate.  
She was a Weasley, after all.

___________________________________

It wasn't until he was 10 and shoved in a changing room at school, by his cousin Dudley, whilst he was changing from P.E, that Harry Potter learnt of his tattoo.

"Wassat on your back, Potter?" The blond boy grinned unpleasantly.

Confused, the smaller boy cautiously touched his back - expecting to touch something sticky or gross that his cousin had put there to trick him - but he only felt his back... Harry was utterly bemused and managed to stutter out, "I-I don't know what you're talking about, Dudley."

This earned him a good smack to the head by one of the coat hooks he was then pushed into.   
Tears sprang to the child's eyes as the pain rocketed through his head.

"Was one weird scar not good enough for you? Had to get one on your back too - you freak."  
After a quick kick to the shins, Dudley grew bored (and distracted by his rumbling tummy) and so he left to go have his lunch.  
Meanwhile, Harry sat on the small bench - rubbing his head and trying not to cry. He was getting good at not crying. Curious, the boy got up and walked out of the changing room and into the nearby toilet, clutching his shirt and bag to his chest.  
Taking a deep breath, Harry turned his back to the bathroom mirrors and then turned his head.

The bag hit the floor, followed by his slightly too big school shirt. He had to be dreaming, right? Perhaps Dudley had hit his head too hard and he was imagining things...  
Harry rubbed his eyes and pinched his arm - and came to the realisation that this was indeed his reality.  
He had, what looked like a broomstick that was on fire, just there on his left shoulder! There were a few attempts to get it off: rubbing it, using the sink to try and wash it off - even trying to scratch it off - but it stayed. Never smudging, never vanishing.

Grimly aware of how angry and upset his Aunt and Uncle would be when they found out (and knowing Dudley, it would be the first thing that was mentioned when they got home), Harry pulled on his shirt and left the bathroom, wondering how that picture had gotten on him, and who had put it there.


	2. Wishful Thinking

Everyone wanted to know who was destined to be with the one and only Harry Potter.  
The poor boy never managed a day without someone asking him once he'd turned 13. Sure, he had thought about it - and yeah he wanted to date. He was a teenage boy, and there were a lot of attractive people at Hogwarts.   
However, a lot of his friends took that to mean that they got to know what his tattoo was, and to speculate who his soulmate was.  
Unfortunately, he couldn't hide the tattoo from his dorm mates - they changed in the same room everyday. More unfortunately, Seamus took it upon himself to tell practically the entirety of Gryffindor house what his tattoo was.  
Soon enough, the whole school knew.  
Harry was pretty sure even journalists had gotten and shared the news by now.

There was an event where about 5 different girls all claimed to have Harry's famous scar on their bodies - one claimed her tattoo was his glasses. A small fight had broken out by the lake that day, and Madame Pomfrey had confirmed that none of the girls had the tattoos they claimed to have.

It was... Exhausting. Harry never wanted to be famous, and now his entire life was being shared with, well... Everyone. He couldn't even keep his soulmate tattoo to himself.  
Never before had the boy wished to just be normal like the others.

___________________________________

Ginny had spent most of her time avoiding her brother's best friend when she realised who he was.  
The fact that he could very likely be her soulmate scared her. What if he didn't like her? She was his best friend's little sister - that didn't exactly scream 'we're meant to be together'!   
Yes, he was kind to her when they ended up being around one another... And yes, he hadn't gotten angry at her for the embarrassing Valentine's poem she'd written that one year. (Why she'd let herself be talked into getting it performed for him, she never knew...) But he'd just been nice in the way that anyone would be to their best friend's little sister.

So Ginny had slid under the radar. Just another little girl with a crush on three Boy Who Lived. A girl with a crush on her older brother's friend - a normal thing that everyone overlooked.  
Fred and George had even stopped teasing her about the tattoo. They'd moved on to Ron's anyway.

At least, Ginny thought she'd gone unnoticed. Little did she know that Ron had been thinking. Thinking for a while.  
She was 14 when he came up to her in the common room and asked to speak alone.  
Given that he was her brother, she decided to go with it and talk to him - it seemed important.

"Ginny..." Ron sighed - running a hand through his hair, before it was shoved into his elbow as he crossed his arms.  
"Can I see your tattoo?"

"Why? It's my tattoo - it has nothing to do with you." Ginny was frowning deeply at the strange request. Since when did Ron care what her tattoo was of?

"Just... Look it's important, okay? Just one look and I'll leave you alone."

"Only if you show me yours."

Reluctantly, the pair flashed tattoos at the other. Sightly satisfied, but still curious, Ginny gave her brother a quizzical look as she re-buttoned her shirt.  
"Why was it so important to see my tattoo?"  
Ron clearly had hoped she'd not bother to ask, as he tensed up slightly.  
After a moment of silence, Ron grunted a little angrily and muttered, "I think Harry might be your soulmate."

Elation rushed through her body at this almost confirmation. No one else saw Harry's scar more often that Ron did - so he knew exactly what it looked like. He also knew what Harry's tattoo was.  
Ginny had somehow managed to get to her fourth year without being told what it was - perhaps because she threatened to hex anyone that tried to tell her.  
She'd played it off as wanting to allow her brother's friend some privacy in his celebrity life, but she'd really been making sure she didn't get any indication that it couldn't be her.

Though Ron's unhappiness about the possibility didn't escape her. It made her wary about wanting it to be true - almost making her hope it wasn't just so he wouldn't be so annoyed about it.  
"What makes you think that? Why would it be me - why not anyone else?"

"As much as I'd like it to be anyone else, I really don't think it is, Ginny. Look I know you've got a crush on the guy - I've known it since you heard about him.  
I'm not thrilled that looks like my best friend might end up dating my little sister, but... I'd rather him than anyone else in this place."

Rolling her eyes at the overprotective act, Ginny lightly slapped Ron's shoulder.  
"Explanation please! Why do you think it's me?"   
Ron frowned, rubbing his shoulder slightly - attempting to make her feel bad for hitting him (it didn't work) - but sighed. He hadn't wanted to divulge the information of Harry's tattoo, but he also didn't want to keep watching Ginny look like she'd been slapped every time she saw Harry have any chance of dating someone else.  
"Cause his tattoo is a bloody broomstick that's on fire. You're good on a broom, and your hair isn't exactly a tame shade of red, Gin."

This elicited a scoff and a shake off Ginny's head. "That's what you're going on? Ron you and I both know it could mean anyone! Loads of people can fly on a broom and have red hair - doesn't mean all of them are his soulmates."

"Argue all you want, but it just seems like the only logical answer, okay? Don't ask me why, it just makes the most sense to me that it'd be you."  
Before Ginny could say another word to discredit Ron's thinking - about to blame it on him just not wanting her to date anyone and that Harry would be the best case scenario for him - Ron was storming away. His long legs carried him away from her at an alarming speed - one she didn't care to try and match.

Her hopes were up now...  
Maybe she really was Harry Potter's soulmate.  
Only time would tell.


	3. A New Year

They were much closer to leaving school and growing up than anticipated. It had only been a year, but that year had changed them all so much.  
And the new year - this year - was the beginning for Ginny. The beginning of her life.  
She was going to live this year.

She was done with waiting on childish dreams of romantic stories she'd once read in a library book.  
No more waiting on Harry to turn around and declare his love for her - no more wishing he'd suddenly corner her and say 'you're my soulmate - I know you are'.  
She was finally letting go of the hope that he'd pull her into his arms and kiss her until she forgot what it meant to breathe.  
Ginny was done with waiting for her soulmate to come to her and complete her.

Because Ginny now knew that she didn't need that. She was already complete. All those stories she'd heard and read of people who felt like they were whole once they'd found their soulmate - bullshit. She knew that now.  
Everyone was whole, and complete. No one needed a soulmate to be those things - a soulmate was more like an added bonus in the adventure of life. Not everybody got it - not everybody wanted it. Some got many bonuses - those people were not always considered lucky for having so many, but it wasn't up to them.  
None of this was.  
It just... Was.

So she had pushed away those dreams from her 12 year old self - to think that she could change so much in 3 years amused her. If she could speak to 12 year old Ginny, she knew the girl would be begging her not to give up on Harry. But was it really giving up?  
She technically had him. Technically. He was in her life and they had fun together - one could even say that they were friends.  
Ginny just didn't want to wait around in case Harry suddenly turned around and asked her out, that was all.

Besides, there were no rules that said you had to be romantically involved with your soulmate. No rules that stated you could only be romantically involved with your soulmate.  
There was nothing binding her to that constant pining. Honestly, the whole thing was tiring her out and starting to irritate her. Did she really want to be the girl that blindly followed her crush around, hoping that he returned her feelings?  
No, the thought of it made her slightly ill.  
That wasn't the way she would live.

So she decided that why not date? Dating was harmless - could be fun - and she knew she wasn't exactly an unattractive girl, given the looks a few students had thrown her way. Ginny wanted to do more than drool over a boy that was so oblivious that he didn't even notice that his own friends were clearly meant to be together. (It was childish, she knew, but she didn't really count Michael as a proper boyfriend... An attempt to move on from Harry, which had failed, yes - but not a boyfriend. She hadn't really been all that committed.)

Anyway, Ginny didn't think dropping the soulmate bombshell on him was a good idea at the time. Who wants to have the stress of soulmates when Voldemort has returned and pretty much vowed to kill you, and most of the wizarding population thinks you're a liar?  
Not Harry. Or at least, Ginny wouldn't want that - so she chose not to put that on Harry. He was stressed out as it was.  
He just needed his friends, and that included Ginny. She could be a friend.

___________________________________

While Ginny had made up her mind, Harry was only just starting to really think about things.  
He had no idea who his soulmate was... Fortunately, the amount of people begging to know who (and hoping it was them) had died down once the entire wizarding world thought he was insane.  
There had to be an upside, even to this fiasco.  
And then there was Ginny. Ron's little sister.

Why did he always feel happier when she was around? What was it that made his heart triple in speed every time she so much as looked at him? He swore it stopped whenever she smiled or laughed. Maybe that was the way Voldemort should have tried to kill him.  
Murdered by having his crush around.  
(At least his mind had made sense of one thing - he did like her. He just didn't know why he'd only just worked out that that was what this was.)

Part of him was telling him the answer: "because she's your soulmate you prat!" But he was actively choosing to ignore that part... He had seen how Ron felt about Dean dating Ginny, so he wasn't even daring to go there.  
Even though he really really wanted to...

It didn't even matter if Ron somehow would be cool with it, ‘cause she had a boyfriend now. Dean - his friend. Harry couldn't even try to justify wanting to break them up by saying Dean didn't deserve her, because he wasn't an awful guy.  
He was a nice dude - a good friend.   
Ginny honestly couldn't have chosen any better, in Harry's mind.

She could have chosen him...   
But did he truly think he was the better guy to be with?   
No. No he didn't.

___________________________________

It was wrong. So very wrong - the way he felt a swell of smug happiness whenever he noticed Ginny and Dean had been fighting again.   
He knew it was just the fact that she was his soulmate that made him feel like that... Because, despite everything, he still felt awful for both of them. That they were fighting. It was taking its toll on the pair, and as their friend, Harry felt bad and wished he could help.

But as Ginny's soulmate he just kind of sat by and watched it happen...   
Waiting for the day that they said enough was enough and ended things.

He really was a horrible person.

It didn't matter how many times he tried to justify it as "they'll be happier apart - it's clearly not working for them!", he still felt like a terrible human being for enjoying watching the downward spiral of his friends' relationship.  
Because he knew that he was just jealous and wanted Ginny to be single again.

Horrible. Person.

No wonder no one believed him about Voldemort... At this point, he honestly wondered why the remainder of his friends had stuck around. He felt so much meaner, and generally dislikable this year...  
Perhaps that was what happened when an evil wizard has a mind link with you - you just turn... Evil.  
He felt more like Dudley than Harry, given how many nasty thoughts he'd had about people who had been his friends - still were his friends.  
Why was he like this?

More importantly, why did his friends still like him, even though he felt like he was being a total prick?  
(Even more importantly, when would Ginny and Dean just break up?)


	4. Breaking Point

They had broken up.  
It was messy, and painful - and she knew she would miss him - but it was done. And it was necessary. They both knew it wasn't going to last, not with the way they'd fight all the time. Dean was sweet, but he had a temper that Ginny had never known about until she'd accidentally provoked it.  
She didn't think any less of him. She was as much to blame as he was.  
Two temperamental people, dating each other in place of the soulmates neither thought they would have - well it was messy from the start.

But she had accepted it, and felt better for it. While they had been terrible partners, they were okay as friends, even after the break up. Perhaps she had needed this... Perhaps both of them had needed it, for Dean seemed happier and more sure of who he was than he had been when they started dating.  
It had been a mistake to date each other, but a necessary mistake for them to make.  
Like mucking up on a recipe the first few times before you learnt how to do it, and proceeded to create beautiful food.

This was Ginny's failed recipe - and maybe one day she'd find a way to make beautiful food.  
But she could live without the food.  
However, she could do with spending a little less time listening to her mother - all these cooking metaphors were making their way into her head, and it was really weirding her out...

Still Ginny powered on through her days - throwing her energy into schoolwork and her friends, pretending that she didn't ache for Harry whenever he was around. Which seemed to be a lot more than usual.  
Ron kept throwing her knowing looks as if to say 'I bloody told you', but she ignored them.  
It was nice that he was looking out for her and trying to be okay with the whole situation, but Harry was still oblivious, and Ginny couldn't be bothered wasting any more effort on trying to catch the guy's attention.  
She liked being his friend.  
He was a good friend.

(He'd be a better soulmate though...)

At least, Ginny thought, she could live with being his friend and nothing else. Just being around him was enough to make her feel happy and safe - even when she knew they were not safe.  
Harry could be a friend to her, and Ginny could carry on as if she didn't want anything else.

Until he kissed her.

___________________________________

It was a moment. A moment swirling with such joy, and pride, and love - oh so much love in that room - that Harry seemed to step out of himself for that moment, and he just looked.  
And he saw.  
He saw her - truly.  
Beautiful, ethereal - hair shining as if it was a real fire that flowed down her back. Laughing, such a musical sound, and smiling. Adding to her beauty.  
And then he saw everything.  
All the glances she'd given him, all the times she'd been there to help - to care. The way she acted, and the way that made him feel.  
And he saw himself, how tired he really was of trying to pretend like he didn't want to be with her. Acting as if she meant nothing to him, or as if he felt platonic love for her and no other kind.  
He was so tired.  
It all sank in and swelled up inside of him, like a drum roll just waiting to crash into a cymbal and bring him home.

And crash he did.

Right onto Ginny Weasley's lips.

Suddenly he was alive - more alive than before. Harry felt as though he'd slotted into place and was reluctant to leave.  
And she wasn't letting him leave. She was smiling, he could feel it, and he was smiling too - and then it became so incredibly quiet that they jerked apart.  
Everyone was staring at them.  
Including Ron.

Shit.


	5. Consequences

The longer the silence was held for, the louder it became. A dull roar in Harry's ears as he recalled everything he knew about Ron.  
Everything Ron had said about Dean - his friend - because he dated Ginny.  
Harry thought Voldemort was the wizard that would be his end, but Ron was looking to be a serious contender...  
Someone wolf-whistled, causing a small eruption of giggles.  
He felt his cheeks start to burn, eyes quickly searching for Ron.

The look on his face was not one he'd hoped for, but one he'd expected nonetheless. Ron, rather appropriately, looked as if someone  
had just smacked him, hard. Shocked and slightly pissed off.  
And then, as if in slow motion, his head jerked in a slight nod.  
Being that they were best friends, he knew what the nod meant.  
'If it had to be anyone...'  
___________________________________

Her eyes had found Dean as soon as she'd pulled apart from Harry. Part of her wanted to apologise, for it being so soon,  
but the rest of her wanted to sing with joy.  
Fireworks, butterflies - she'd felt all the cliches!  
And while he was clearly shocked, Dean smiled at her - his eyes saying 'congratulations on getting your soulmate'.  
It was only then that she thought of her brothers.

More specifically, the brother that was in the room. Watching them.

Ginny turned her head to find Ron, and saw his head making a weird jerking motion.  
Raising an eyebrow at him, she got a small thumbs up and a mouthed 'told you' in return.  
Pleased that Ron wasn't about to murder her soulmate, Ginny turned back to Harry, only to find him grinning down  
at her as if he'd just found the most precious gem.  
Her own smile brightened, and they wordlessly moved towards the portrait hole.  
___________________________________

"So..." began Harry, entirely flummoxed about how to go about broaching the topic of soulmates.  
After all, he didn't want to scare her off after they'd just kissed.  
He was certain that she was his, but what if he was wrong? What if Ginny only had a crush on him because he  
was Harry Potter?  
She didn't seem to be the type to care about him being famous but... Well, he was worried about losing her before  
he'd even asked her out.

___________________________________

"So," Ginny smiled up at him, nudging his side with her hip as they walked. Hand in hand, of course - she'd grabbed  
his hand the moment they'd left the common room, and it felt as if she'd come home.  
"I'll show you my tattoo if you show me yours."

Harry's face made her laugh - utterly bewildered and slightly relieved at the same time. It was a good look for him.  
Cute.  
Rolling her eyes, Ginny poked him gently in the chest.   
"Did you really think I wasn't thinking the same thing? Come on, Harry! Everyone's thinking it."

"I don't think everyone is thinking it." But he smiled as he spoke, showing that she hadn't guessed wrong.  
Harry thought they were soulmates too.

"Ron does. He told me so himself."  
Before Harry could get further than "Ron wha-" she pecked him on the lips before tapping her arm.  
"Mine for yours, Potter."

___________________________________

The moment she tapped her arm, Harry couldn't take his eyes off the spot.   
So that was were hers was... His mind raced with possibilities for what the tattoo would be.  
Would it even be about him? How would he know?  
When did Ron say he thought Harry was his sister's soulmate?

Shaking his head slightly to clear it, he glanced once more at her arm before sighing.  
"I think this is just a ploy to get me out of my shirt..."  
With a slight smirk, he started to undo the buttons on his shirt. Pretending not to notice how Ginny's  
eyes had widened (but also storing that look away in his memories, because it was too cute), he  
turned and dropped the back so that the tattoo was uncovered.

There was a soft gasp, then tentative fingers brushing against his skin causing him to shiver slightly.  
"I didn't think it would be this... Wild.  
I mean Ron said on fire, but..."

His head whipped around, confusion in his eyes.   
"Ron said? Wait, you knew what it was?"  
A lip was being bitten, hands wringing together as she tried to come up with  
an explanation. But then he was laughing, and it was Ginny's turn to look confused.

"So it was a ploy to get me out of my shirt! Ginny Weasley, whatever would your brothers think if they knew?."


End file.
